Gallo's departure from East Haven Police Department seen as a 'good first step' (with video, Maturo, Einhorn statements)

A sign looking for the resignation of Republican East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. sits at the corner of Kimberly Avenue and Forbes Place in East Haven. The sign is on property owned by former Town Attorney Patricia Cofrancesco, who served with Maturo's predecessor, Democrat April Capone.
Arnold Gold/Register

The East Haven Police Department held a public open house in December 2011. Police Chief Leonard Gallo, left, stopped to chat briefly with Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr.
Mara Lavitt/Register

EAST HAVEN -- Though not everyone's on the same page regarding Police Chief Leonard Gallo's announced retirement, many interviewed Monday agree the decision is necessary to take the Police Department in a new direction.

Gallo officially indicated his intent to retire from the Police Department Monday in the face of a federal criminal investigation that last week resulted in the arrests of four police officers, Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. said.

His last day on the job will be Friday.

Maturo told a Town Hall press conference packed with local, regional and national media that the decision, which Gallo informed him of on Friday, was "a selfless act designed to assist in the healing process" with the Latino community, some of whom police are accused of mistreating.

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Gallo's retirement provides "an opportunity for the town to move forward with the healing that is necessary given recent events, and most importantly an opportunity for the entire East Haven community to move forward as a unified group to embrace the changes that will follow," Maturo said.

He said the search for a new chief "will begin immediately," and that Deputy Chief John Mannion will serve as chief until a new one is chosen.

"The new chief must possess the ability to effectively restructure the department; implement suggested reforms; and reach out to and work closely with members of all segments of the East Haven community to build trust between the community and the department," Maturo said.

He offered kind parting words for Gallo.

"Chief Gallo has always been an unwavering supporter of the town of East Haven," Maturo said. "He has been a devoted public servant and performed admirably in both his personal and professional life.

Dixon Jimenez, an Ecuadorean-American who lives in New Haven, said it was a good start. Jimenez is friends with some of the people who have had problems with East Haven police and works with Junta For Progressive Action.

Latrina Kelly, interim executive director of Junta, also called it "a good first step." The Junta is an affiliate of Reform Immigration for America, the organization that sent hundreds of tacos to East Haven Friday to protest Maturo's "taco" remark and has since collected 15,000 signatures calling on Gallo to resign.

Now, "we need a more diverse police department, and we need the mayor ... to step forward and to say that he's opening a dialogue with the entire community," Kelly said.

Gallo's lawyer, Jonathan J. Einhorn, said it was a tough decision for Gallo, who was not at the press conference because it was too emotional for him.

"Chief Gallo has served in law enforcement for 42 years and as chief in East Haven for 14 years," Einhorn said. "He is retiring from this position for one reason alone: that is his desire not to be a distracting element in East Haven's efforts to rehabilitate its image both upon its citizens and the general public.

"As you know, there is a civil lawsuit pending against him in United States District Court, and the potential for criminal charges by the United States Justice Department in a case now pending against four officers, in which he is named as a co-conspirator," Einhorn said.

"Chief Gallo will be vindicated in the civil case against him, and should he be charged in the federal criminal case, we will successfully defend against any such charges," Einhorn said. "He is not guilty of any wrongdoing in either the civil action or potentially in any criminal action."

Two outgoing members of the Board of Police Commissioners, Chairman Fred Brow and member James Krebs -- both appointees of Democratic former Mayor April Capone -- attended the press conference and said Gallo should not be allowed to retire, and should be fired instead.

Brow arrived at Town Hall a few minutes before 9 a.m. and filed a meeting notice for a special meeting tonight -- Brow's last day before his term ends -- to consider three resolutions.

One will recommend that Maturo terminate Gallo, and one will recommend that Maturo disband the new Law Enforcement Advisory Resource Network committee, or LEARN, Brow said.

The third resolution concerns the filing of a complaint against Maturo with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities "arising out of his comments surrounding the racial profiling allegations, the Justice Department investigation and the indictments of four ... East Haven police officers," according to the agenda.

Brow said the board wants Maturo "to fire Gallo" and "save the town the $150,000" that would be involved in a retirement settlement "because of his terrible behavior as chief," he said.

He said that LEARN should be disbanded because three members, Gallo, Maturo and former Town Attorney Lawrence Sgrignari, "are part of the problem," and because it duplicates work that the police board already is doing.

The FBI arrested the four police officers last week on allegations that they waged a campaign of harassment against Latino residents and businesses, including assaulting people who were handcuffed and intimidating people who tried to report misconduct claims.

All four officers -- Sgt. John Miller and officers Dennis Spaulding, Jason Zullo and David Cari, have pleaded not guilty.

Federal authorities are targeting additional suspects, and state officials are preparing for possible widespread arrests that could cripple the Police Department.

Mario Rodriguez, nephew of the owner of Los Amigos store on Main Street, said that a new leader is a critical component of department improvements.

"Someone new should come in. The other (new) guy has got to understand our position, and we can talk," Mario Rodriguez said as he visited store owner Luis Rodriguez Monday. "When he (Gallo) leaves, that's not the solution. The solution is to keep going and to fix this kind of problem because it can't happen anymore."

When a new chief arrives, it will be a good time to conduct new training for officers, according to Luis Rodriguez.

"Police should talk with everyone in the community. It doesn't matter the ethnic race. We are open-minded for whatever we talk about with them," said Luis Rodriguez, who wants the Police Department and Maturo to participate in a community meeting about the recent town turmoil.

Jeffrey Matchett, executive director of AFSCME Council 15, the Connecticut Council of Police, also supports the retirement choice, viewing the move as putting the town and department before Gallo's own needs.

"Last week was a tough week for East Haven police officers, and for police throughout Connecticut. This week is a time to start heading in a new direction, where the focus can return to public safety and a healing of wounds," Matchett said in a prepared statement.

"Despite the work and dedication of Chief Gallo, his continued presence would have only served as a distraction to turning the department around. We applaud Chief Gallo's decision to put the department and the town ahead of his personal interests and to move the department in a positive direction."

The retirement was no surprise to a few locals on Main Street Monday afternoon.

"If you have a clear conscience, you shouldn't have to (resign)," said resident Sandra Negron. "I figured something like this would happen."

It seemed like only a matter of time, resident Dennis Schoendorf said, adding, "As a boss, you need to take responsibility."

Though Schoendorf acknowledged that Gallo's retirement will give the department "a new start" and give the town a chance to move past all of the recent controversy, he said he's still not sure if he feels Gallo should have retired because there's more information that hasn't yet been released.

Like Schoendorf, Robert Hande feels that he can't give a clear opinion on Gallo's announcement because more information will eventually be revealed and investigators have only showed one side of the story so far.

But he was surprised that Gallo is leaving now, wondering why he didn't make the decision instead when he spent more than a year on administrative leave. Gallo had been placed on leave by Capone in April 2010 before being reinstated by Maturo.

In Luis Cartagena's view, Gallo should be fired, adding, "Someone should take his place who knows how to deal with people and won't judge by race or color."

Pedro Gutierriez, owner of Guti's Bakery on Main Street, also has high hopes for a new chief and feels the retirement is a good thing.

"I hope the next person who is going to get the position of chief has the ability to work with the whole community and keep everyone safe," Gutierriez said. "We want to have confidence in our police department, and any problems we have in any way, we want to call them and feel safe."

Some involved in a civil lawsuit against Gallo and the Police Department on Monday applauded the retirement in a publicly released statement.

"The power structure that perpetuated a toxic culture within the East Haven Police Department is finally crumbling," said Christopher Lapinig, a student in the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School, which represents the plaintiffs in the civil rights case.

Attorney David Rosen, who is also representing plaintiffs in the civil rights suit, said Gallo had no other option but to leave.

"We continue to learn the extent to which the Police Department's law enforcement efforts were contaminated by the racism and police abuse that Gallo helped cultivate," he said.

The National Immigration Forum also weighed in, with Executive Director Ali Noorani saying in a statement that Gallo's retirement takes the town "a step closer to restoring justice and fairness."

But Noorani is against the Department of Homeland Security including the Police Department in the Secure Communities program, which allows fingerprints of people arrested in participating towns to be sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for analysis.

"Given the Justice Department's findings, we urge the Department of Homeland Security to not include East Haven in the problematic Secure Communities program. The events in East Haven are a clear reminder that DHS should proceed with caution when engaging local police as partners in immigration enforcement," Noorani said.